Fastener tools tend to recoil when fired due to the forces generated by the acceleration of the fastener driver. This creates relative movement between the nail gun and the fastener as it is driven into the substrate. The driver tip is generally designed to be approximately the same size as the head of the fastener to reduce excessive marking to the substrate. Relatively small movement between the fastener and driver can cause additional marking of the substrate and in some cases the driver can prematurely slip off of the fastener leaving it sticking up above the surface. The technology disclosed herein compensates for the movement of the tool by shifting the fastener location ahead of the driver so at the end of the drive event they are approximately lined up.
An analogy is a ferry crossing a river where the sideways movement (known as leeway) due to the wind and current must be taken into account in order to arrive at the desired destination. The dock may be directly across the river but the ferry must aim upstream to compensate for the current. In the case of fastening tools, the recoil has a similar effect as the current does on the ferry. Inertia causes the fastening tool to rotate, and to therefore, the tip moves forward during the drive event. To compensate for this action, the fastener should be ejected ahead of the driver track so, as the tool moves, the driver ends up on the head of the fastener at the end of the drive stroke.